Martin Luther King jnr.

3 Cosas más importantes que aprendí sobre las citas en mis 20 años.

Imagen de Unsplash

Imagen de Unsplash

Acabo de cumplir 31 años y, al contrario de lo que pensaba cuando era más joven, mi vida ha resultado increíble y estoy eternamente agradecida. Anteriormente mencioné cómo pensé que tener hijos y ser esposa ha sido una prioridad; Sin embargo, el universo me ha enviado lecciones para enseñarme que no es mi éxito final.

Ser padre y pareja es maravilloso, sí. Pero, tuve que aprender que necesito realizarme a mí mismo en lugar de jugar un papel para demostrar mi valía. Desde que tenía 12 años o un poco más joven, siempre he sabido que quiero ser madre. Soñaba con tener 6 hijos y la gente bromeaba diciendo que debería casarme con un contador, lo tenía en mente y cuando comencé a salir, solo salía con hombres que tuvieron éxito para poder cumplir mi sueño.

Cuanto más mencioné mi deseo de tener un montón de hijos, más me cansaría de las proyecciones de otras personas sobre cómo debería ser mi futuro. Estas proyecciones nublaron mi vida amorosa porque en lugar de buscar una pareja, estaba buscando a alguien en mi vida que se viera bien en el papel, olvidando que la persona con la que quiero estar es una extensión de felicidad y alegría.

Aquí hay 3 cosas que las citas en mis 20 años me han enseñado:

1. No tengo que ser una esposa para ser feliz.

Vengo de una familia de divorciados y, aunque cada familia tiene sus problemas, hay algo que les sucede a los hijos del divorcio que es único. Pasé por dos fases para acercarme a la vida familiar: no necesito una pareja para tener hijos y necesito casarme con la persona perfecta para que mi matrimonio no se desmorone. Esta presión solía llevarla profundamente y buscaría socios que parecieran perfectos en el papel, incluso si no estuvieran disponibles emocional o físicamente porque había desarrollado la creencia de que el dinero y la estructura mantienen unida a la familia. Sí, la razón número uno para el divorcio es el dinero; sin embargo, no hay unión entre dos personas si no hay respeto, amabilidad y amor mutuo.

2. Yo me elijo.

Acabo de dejar ir una situación con un chico maravilloso. Es una persona hermosa por dentro y por fuera; sin embargo, él no está emocional o físicamente disponible para darme lo que quiero. Cuando era más joven, sentía que tenía que ser mártir y sacrificar mi sangre y sudor. Tenía la creencia de que una mujer debería dar más que un hombre y, para ser la esposa potencial perfecta, no debía expresar ni expresar mis preocupaciones. Podría pasar mi tiempo culpando a la sociedad y por qué desarrollé estos sistemas de creencias en primer lugar. Sin embargo, es mi vida y tengo que asumir la responsabilidad de lo que quiero en ella. Quiero y merezco un socio que esté listo y capaz de comprometerse, así que depende de mí crear límites para que esto sea factible.

3. Siempre puedo decir que no.

Honestamente, me he metido en algunas relaciones que duraron mucho más de lo que deberían porque tenía demasiado miedo de ser el único en decir que no. En el fondo de mi cabeza, siempre me preguntaría si me arrepiento de haber dicho que sí. Siempre he sentido la necesidad de ser optimista siempre, aunque sea a mi costa. Especialmente como profesora de yoga y profesional del bienestar, pasamos mucho tiempo enfocándonos en sí. Sin embargo, olvidamos enfatizar la importancia de decir a veces no.

Nada es blanco y negro y la experiencia de vida de cada persona es diferente. Sin embargo, ninguno de nosotros debería sentirse obligado a decir algo que sea falso por miedo a no obtener lo que queremos. He aprendido y creo firmemente que todo lo que es para mí, me encontrará. Si trabajo lo suficiente, amo lo suficiente y lo doy todo, he hecho todo lo que puedo. Se me permite crear límites y cuidar mi bienestar y, a veces, eso significa decir que no.

5 quotes that helped me through the biggest heartbreak of my life.

Until that moment, I thought that I had had enough heartache for the 27 years of my existence on this earth. However, I was incorrect. The biggest heartache was about to happen to me. 

 

I was in a seemingly loving relationship with a man four years my senior. He had recently moved to Savannah to pursue his career. I only wanted the best for him so I was the supportive girlfriend. Shortly after his departure, I suspected that I was pregnant. I became heavily nauseous with certain smells, became extremely tired and had other symptoms.

 

I took a test and found out that I was pregnant. A day after I informed my (then) boyfriend, he disappeared. I texted, called, e-mailed but no reply. I spent a few days waking up and going to sleep crying. I would take breaks at work to ball my eyes out. 

 

I cried my heart out fearing having to raise a  child by myself, I cried about whether I would be okay and I cried out of confusion because he had told me that he would be there for me and that he had wanted my child. 

 

I received a brief e-mail about five days after his disappearance from him, saying that we needed to talk. I agreed to it but no reply from him. The next day, I woke up with a pain in my abdomen and bleeding. I rushed to The ER and texted him on the way. Still no reply. I ended up miscarrying from emotional stress. 

 

In a week, I went from having a baby and boyfriend to being alone. A lonely hole filled my life so I reached out to yoga, gospel music, friends and family. 

 

And, I found five magical quotes that give me salvation everyday:

 

1. It's not over, it's only the beginning- Israel & the new breed.

 

Given the fact that this situation is still fresh in my mind, I wake up listening to this song everyday . It's a gospel song by Israel & the new breed. Experiencing such heartbreak can sometimes make me think that my life is over. That the next guy that I date will be worse than the last, that I will never be a mother again or that I am running out of time to have my own family. This song reminds me that all of that is a lie because I know in my heart that the universe ultimately saved me from a relationship with a man that I didn't want to be with. So, my heart is at ease knowing that this is the beginning of better days. 

 

 

2. When people show you who they are, believe them- Maya Angelou

 

Looking back, I saw many signs that the relationship that I was in was not the one that I wanted to be in. I am not here to dog him out. However, there were many situations when I was there for him during difficult times but he was rarely there for me during difficult times. He showed me time and time again that he was incapable of being there for me. This time, I listened. Moving forward, I will accept everyone's behaviour as truth- not excuse it. 

 

3. When you're going through hell, keep going- Winston Churchill. 

 

I love this quote so much that I have it on my fridge. While I was pregnant, it was so difficult to get out of bed and go to yoga, work and to even interact with people. I would muster up the energy to face myself and others everyday because I knew that there was an end to what I was going through. And, alas, there was! I kept going and, through that, I learnt how strong I really am.

 

4. Quit beating yourself up, you are not a finished product. You are a work in progress- Joel Osteen.

 

Sometimes negative thoughts of how I let a man like my ex-boyfriend into my life come over me. I find myself being washed with guilt of allowing myself to be swept away by someone who was clearly not good news for me. And then, I decide to be kind to myself and trust the journey. I have mercy on myself because I know that I am learning and, sometimes, things aren't as clear they may seem but I will be okay.

 

5. 'I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear- Martin Luther King Jnr.

 

It's easy to hate someone after doing you wrong. Initially after everything happened, I blamed my ex-boyfriend for contributing to the stress that caused my miscarriage. But those thoughts were heavy. They were weighing me down. They wore heavy on my soul because ultimately I know that what has happened, has happened, and it is only beneficial for me to move forward. The love that I have for him is gone but I can stick with love for myself. Forgiving him is for me. And, forgiveness doesn't have to mean that I am his best friend. In this case, it means that I am not choosing to let negativity rule my life.

by Hali Tsotetsi